WATERFRONTEXPO 2008 – A major success!

More than 300 delegates from 43 waterfront cities in 23 countries attended WaterfrontExpo 2008, staged in Liverpool from 3 – 5 November.

This was the sixth WaterfrontExpo to date and delegates heard 11 major case studies, a number of key presentations and participated in several major site visits.

As expected, one of the highlights of the event was the keynote presentation by David Mackay, who drew on his enormous experience as one of the main driving forces in the redevelopment of the waterfront of Barcelona, one of the world’s most elegant cities.

Altogether, delegates heard 11 international case studies ranging from Margate to Shanghai, a number of key presentations and participated in several major site visits. These case studies and presentations will in the near future be available for download from our website – www.waterfrontexpo.com.

This year’s event also saw the introduction of a revised format designed to enhance the delegate experience and their ability to participate more completely in the event. This involved the staging of various discussion groups and workshops staged in an around the exhibition area and hosted by exhibitors and other experts (the discussion group hosted by Gensler's Voon Fui Lai is pictured above).

This format enabled delegates to discuss on an informal but organised manner some of the key issues associated with waterfront developments they were directly associated with. Activity during the event plus initial feedback indicates that this new formula proved to be a success.

Another new development this year was the introduction of ‘Waterfront Connect’ – our pre-event online networking system which enabled delegates to book time with each other. Approximately half the delegates attending actively used this system.

Commenting on the event, WaterfrontExpo Project Director, Mark Beaumont, said: “Broadly speaking we are very satisfied with the 2008 event and it appears that for the vast majority of participants it exceeded their expectations. Following WaterfrontExpo 2007 in Lisbon and in line with our strategy of continual improvement, we freshened up the format and are please to see that this appeared to have worked well. Looking ahead we have some very exciting ideas for future events.” He added: “With an eye to future events we are currently discussing opportunities with potential host cities."

Main official delegations attending (of 2 or more people) came from: Belfast, Belgrade, Blackpool, Galway, Gdynia, Gent, Glasgow, Helsingborgs, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Liverpool, Montenegro, Moscow, Peterborough, Rotterdam, Shannon, South Korea, Stockholm

Countries represented included: Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Eire, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA

CASE STUDIES AND PRESENTATIONS:

• Keynote presentation - Connecting people with the waterfront, by David Mackay, Partner, MBM Arquitectes, Barcelona, Spain.
• Belfast, Northern Ireland - The Titanic Quarter, by Mike Smith, Chief Executive and Managing Director of Titanic Quarter Ltd
• Belgrade, Serbia - Development of the Belgrade Waterfront, by Colin Fournier, Professor, University College London
• Irvine Bay, Scotland - The Coastal Park Framework, by Patrick Wiggins, Chief Executive, Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company
• La Spezia, Italy – Regenerating the waterfront, by José María Tomas Llavador, Founder, Ingeniería y Arquitectura S.L., Valencia, Spain
• Liverpool, UK – Liverpool One, by Rod Holmes, Retail Projects, Director, Grosvenor, and Chairman of The Mersey Partnership
• Liverpool, UK – Liverpool and Wirral Waters, by Lindsey Ashworth, Development Director, Peel Holdings, UK
• Liverpool, UK – The Museum of Liverpool, by David Fleming OBE, Director, National Museums Liverpool, UK
• Liverpool/ Manchester, UK – Ocean Gateway, by Lindsey Ashworth, Development Director, Peel Holdings, UK
• Margate, Kent, UK - The Turner Contemporary: Catalyst for change, by Victoria Pomery, Director, Turner Contemporary
• San Francisco, USA - Piers 27-31
• by Andrew Wolfram, SMWM architects, San Francisco, USA
• San Juan, Puerto Rico - San Juan Waterfront
• by Karen McShea, Managing Director, Colliers International
• Shanghai, China - Connecting the city and the river, by Tom Sieniewicz, Principal, Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, Massachusetts USA
• Floating structures on the new frontier, by David Beard, CEO, Floating Concepts, UK
• Landscape, Open Space and Waterfront Regeneration – Changing Perception, by Peter Sheard, Senior Associate, Gensler, UK
• The role of events in creating activity on the waterfront, by Dr Andrew Smith, Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster, London, UK
• Using brand strategy to connect people to the waterfront, by Malcolm S Allan, Director, Locum Consulting